Teams don’t just form; they have to be nurtured as they develop through four stages. This section will help you to assess how effective your team is at the moment, decide which stage it’s at and identify how you can move it forward.

Today’s teams

All sorts
[Visual of liquorice all sorts – labelled with some different team types from the table below.]

In many companies and organisations teams are the basic unit for getting the work done. Here are a few examples of the many shapes and forms teams can take.

[Designer: set in columns as shown]

How the team is led: Managed teams Have a team leader
Self-managed teams Manage themselves, without a formal team leader
What work is addressed: Normal work teams Deal with routine, day-to-day work
Project teams/task forces Work on a one-off project, and disband once it’s complete
Quality teams Focus on producing a quality product or service

Who is in the team: Customer–supplier teams Include customers and suppliers
How the team communicates: Virtual or electronic teams Communicate electronically and rarely, if ever, meet face to face

A team may come into more than one category – it may be a virtual, quality team or a self-managed, project team.

I like working in a team where we manage ourselves. We talk a lot, use our initiative, collaborate and do things for the best interest of the team.